7 ways to make next year better than this year in a matter of minutes

Those changes include journaling, practicing gratitude, and even ordering takeout dinner.

We collected a list of 10-minute tweaks you can make starting today, and explained why they’re helpful.

You don’t need to conduct a major life overhaul to be happy in 2019.

Small changes to your daily routine can go a long way. Think capturing the most beautiful photo of a flower garden on your way to work, or hugging a friend you haven’t seen in a while.

Below, Business Insider has listed seven tweaks to your daily routine – all of which take 10 minutes or less – that can make you happier, healthier, and more productive. Read on for ideas you can implement starting today.

Jot down your thoughts and feelings

Ferris uses “The Artist’s Way Morning Pages Journal” by Julia Cameron, and emphasizes that the process of writing matters more than the final product. What’s more, journaling allows you to get fears and worries out of your head so you can stop fixating on them.

Another journal option is the “Five Minute Journal,” which comes with inspirational quotations and thought-provoking questions.

You can switch things up and journal in the evening if that’s more convenient.

Take one beautiful photo on your way to work

That’s a tip from Mo Gawdat, who is an executive at Alphabet’s moonshot lab, X, and the author of “Solve for Happy.” Every day during his walk to the office, Gawdat searches for something beautiful and snaps its photo.

The idea behind searching for one perfect photo is that it prevents Gawdat from thinking distressing thoughts, since he’s fully engaged in searching for beauty. He calls it a form of meditation: Instead of focusing on his breath, or a spot on the wall in front of him, he’s focusing on the world around him.

Plan something joyful for tomorrow

A 2014 study, published in the journal Emotion, found that the key is “prioritizing positivity,” or structuring your day so that it includes activities that are likely to make you happy.

To schedule your days to maximize happiness, study co-author Lahnna I. Catalino told Scientific American you should “reflect on the activities that bring you contentment or joy and make time for these events in your daily life. For some people, this could mean regularly setting aside time for gardening and cooking; for others, it could mean making time to connect with good friends.”

The idea is not to force yourself to feel any specific way at any given moment.

Set one priority for this evening

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It’s tempting to waste the hours after you get home from work – you’re tired and there aren’t any hard deadlines to meet like there are at the office.

So productivity expert and author Laura Vanderkam recommends setting one (simple) priority for every weekday evening. Maybe you want to go for a walk with your family after dinner, or call a friend, or read 100 pages of a novel, or go to a gym class.

Vanderkam said: “It is very easy to come home after work and just feel like, well, I’m too tired to do anything. But you have several hours then that are going and you will never get that back.”

Consider outsourcing a chore

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A recent cross-cultural study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that people who spend money to save time tend to be happier than those who don’t. Think paying for a meal-kit service or hiring a house cleaner.

Interestingly, few people surveyed said they would spend a hypothetical sum of money on services that would save them time, suggesting that most of us aren’t aware of this connection.

Ordering takeout for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day might be going overboard. But sending out your laundry today and having a Task Rabbit assemble that bookshelf tomorrow might save you a headache in the long run.

Every night before bed, write down three things that went well for you, along with an explanation of why they went well. The good things can be as seemingly small as your partner taking out the garbage or as big as getting a promotion. Make sure you include as much detail as possible, as well as how the event made you feel.